English subtitles for clip: File:1965-02-08 Showdown in Vietnam.ogv

1
00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:05,200
(orchestral intro jingle)

2
00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:06,600
This is Pleiku,

3
00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:08,800
250 miles north of Saigon,

4
00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:10,300
the air base that was ripped

5
00:00:10,300 --> 00:00:12,300
by Vietnamese communist guerrillas.

6
00:00:12,300 --> 00:00:14,200
8 Americans died in the attack

7
00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:16,000
that brought swift retaliation

8
00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,400
by US and South Vietnamese forces.

9
00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:20,300
From carriers and land bases

10
00:00:20,300 --> 00:00:21,800
49 jets struck back

11
00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:23,800
at staging areas just across the border

12
00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:25,000
in North Vietnam.

13
00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:26,500
The red guerrillas

14
00:00:26,500 --> 00:00:28,700
were able to slip by Vietnamese guards

15
00:00:28,700 --> 00:00:30,200
in the middle of the night raid

16
00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:32,400
and lob mortar shells into the area,

17
00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:33,800
while hand-carried bombs

18
00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:35,200
were placed under aircraft

19
00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:36,600
and against barrack walls.

20
00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:38,600
“Why security was so lax?”

21
00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:40,800
is the object of two investigations.

22
00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:42,200
Although some officers say

23
00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:45,000
full protection against such attacks is impossible

24
00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:46,400
in this jungle war.

25
00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:47,600
There is mute evidence of

26
00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:49,600
the toll the guerrillas took here.

27
00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:55,400
(frightening soundtrack continues)

28
00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:58,000
First official word of the retaliatory attacks

29
00:00:58,000 --> 00:00:58,800
comes from

30
00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:00,600
Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara

31
00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:02,200
in a briefing for newsmen.

32
00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:03,400
The map shows

33
00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:05,200
the relative position of three carriers

34
00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:06,800
attached to the 7th Fleet

35
00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:09,000
as well as the three US bases

36
00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:10,800
that were hit by the Vietcong.

37
00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:13,000
This is what followed:
(music fades out)

38
00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,000
Immediately following the attack,

39
00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,000
US representatives in Saigon

40
00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,800
met with representatives of the South Vietnamese government.

41
00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:21,600
They jointly agreed

42
00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:25,000
that joint retaliatory action was required.

43
00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:28,000
The President’s approval of this action

44
00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:30,600
was given after the action was discussed with

45
00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,300
and recommended by the National Security Council

46
00:01:33,300 --> 00:01:37,200
at a meeting held between 7:45 p. m. and 9:00 p. m. last night.

47
00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:39,600
(music fades in)
Mr. McNamara said

48
00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:41,200
that the raiding US jets

49
00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:42,400
hit Dong Hoi barracks,

50
00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:44,200
where most red troops are equipped

51
00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:45,800
for their forays to the south.

52
00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:46,800
In the first raid,

53
00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:49,400
land-based planes were forced back by the weather,

54
00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,600
but the carrier jets completed their strike

55
00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:53,600
with the loss of one American plane.

56
00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:55,800
Later, photo reconnaissance flights proved

57
00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,800
that much of the staging area
had been completely destroyed.

58
00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:01,600
The confrontation between the Reds and the West

59
00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:02,800
was the most critical

60
00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,400
since the Gulf of Tonkin incident last summer,

61
00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:07,600
when the US replied just as swiftly

62
00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,200
to North Vietnam PT boat attacks.

63
00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:16,200
(dramatic orchestral music continues)

64
00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:19,200
The second raid came the next day,

65
00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:20,800
when the South Vietnamese pilots

66
00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:22,800
struck anew at bases across the border.

67
00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,400
Here again, a successful mission was carried out

68
00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:27,600
as the Red communication center at Vinh Linh

69
00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:29,200
was bombed and strafed.

70
00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:30,800
Both, Peiping and Moscow

71
00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:31,800
were slow to comment

72
00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:33,400
on these retaliatory raids.

73
00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:35,000
Finally, they both promised

74
00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,000
to back the North Vietnamese regime.

75
00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:38,800
Asian reaction, however,

76
00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,200
was that the two red powers had lost face

77
00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:42,800
in the east-west showdown.

78
00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,200
To bolster defenses in South Vietnam,

79
00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:48,800
a HAWK ground-to-air missile unit has gone on duty.

80
00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,200
(temporary climax in formidable music)

81
00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:54,250
Meanwhile, President Johnson’s

82
00:02:54,250 --> 00:02:56,400
Special Assistant for Security Affairs,

83
00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:58,200
McGeorge Bundy, arrives at the scene

84
00:02:58,200 --> 00:02:59,400
of the Vietcong raid.

85
00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,200
He was in Vietnam on a mission for the President

86
00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:03,600
when the attacks took place,

87
00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:05,800
and he holds a battlefront conference

88
00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:07,400
with Lieutenant General Khan

89
00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,000
before returning to Washington.

90
00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:11,500
While he conferred with Vietnamese officials,

91
00:03:11,500 --> 00:03:14,600
the National Security Council was meeting in Washington.

92
00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:15,800
It was <i>these</i> meetings

93
00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:17,200
that brought the swift decision

94
00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:19,000
to strike back at the Vietcong,

95
00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:21,000
to reemphasize our resolve

96
00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:24,500
to continue to defend the cause of freedom in Southeast Asia.

97
00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,400
(music transitions to victorious theme)

98
00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:29,800
Before leaving for home,

99
00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:31,800
Mr. Bundy flew to the 8th Field Hospital

100
00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,200
to visit the men wounded in the guerrilla attack.

101
00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:36,200
108 men were wounded,

102
00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:38,200
79 of them seriously.

103
00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:44,400
(terrifying theme of music continues)

104
00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:46,200
Mr. Bundy was to say later

105
00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:48,400
that he found morale high among the men,

106
00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:50,000
a factor that, the President says,

107
00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,200
our enemies always underestimate.

108
00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:53,800
(new calm music theme)

109
00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,000
Mr. Bundy arrives back in Washington the next day,

110
00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:59,000
and he immediately goes into conference

111
00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,200
with the President and the Security Council.

112
00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:02,600
He tells reporters

113
00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,800
that he found political and religious factions in Vietnam

114
00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:07,400
united in their belief

115
00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,600
that the Vietcong is their common enemy.
(music fades out)

116
00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:12,600
We had an opportunity to talk

117
00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:15,000
frankly and freely with them.

118
00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:17,000
They <i>again</i> emphasized

119
00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,800
the overriding importance in South Vietnam

120
00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,000
of the contest against the communists.

121
00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:24,600
They emphasized,
as the political leaders had done,

122
00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:27,400
the importance and their own dedication to…

123
00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:31,200
uh, the importance <i>of</i> and their dedication <i>to</i> the task of

124
00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:34,000
forming a stable and effective political

125
00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:36,600
society under a stable and effective government,

126
00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:38,400
uhh, in that country,

127
00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:40,400
uh… a view which, of course,

128
00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:41,800
er, we share.

129
00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:45,070
And I think it’s fair to say that

130
00:04:45,070 --> 00:04:48,800
the Americans in Vietnam are in <i>very</i> good heart

131
00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:50,800
and are prepared to continue

132
00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:53,000
even against this kind of danger

133
00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:54,800
and this kind of sneak attack.

134
00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:57,000
Let me say one more thing about that

135
00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:58,000
sneak attack

136
00:04:58,000 --> 00:04:59,400
that in a war of this kind

137
00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:00,000
in which

138
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,200
there are no fixed lines,

139
00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:04,800
in which there are large territories

140
00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:06,200
that are lightly inhabited

141
00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:09,400
and that are essentially
jungle and mountainous in character.

142
00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:12,250
Uhh… I know no military man

143
00:05:12,250 --> 00:05:13,600
who believes that with…

144
00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:17,200
without an <i>overwhelming</i>
assignment of local defense forces

145
00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:21,200
it is possible to guarantee against
this kind of sneak attack.

146
00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:23,400
Uhh… This is the sort of thing

147
00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:25,800
and all Americans in the area know it,

148
00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:28,400
with which we simply <i>have</i> to contend

149
00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,600
while we prosecute in company with

150
00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:34,000
the government and people of South Vietnam

151
00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:35,500
a contest against communism,

152
00:05:35,500 --> 00:05:40,200
which is of the highest importance to our national interest.

153
00:05:42,500 --> 00:05:48,600
(outro music)

154
00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:50,400
(instruments die away)